Information recording/reproducing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An information recording/reproducing apparatus determines whether ejection of an optical disk stored in an optical disk drive or in a changer is allowed when receiving a command for ejecting the optical disk to the outside. The information recording/reproducing apparatus allows the optical disk to be ejected only when judging that the ejection is allowed. When judging that the ejection is not allowed, the information recording/reproducing apparatus rejects the ejection. Prohibition of ejection of an optical disk on which information whose copyright is to be protected has been recorded enables the use of the information for private hobby and at the same time prevents pirated versions or the like from being produced, thus realizing copyright protection.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an information recording/reproducingapparatus such as an optical disk apparatus that records information tobe stored on, or reproduces or erases information from an optical mediumor a magneto-optical medium (an information medium) such as an opticaldisk. Particularly, the present invention relates to an informationrecording/reproducing apparatus in which information is recorded on, orreproduced or erased from a portable information medium.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The optical memory technique using an optical disk with a pit-shapedpattern as a high-density and mass storage medium has been put intopractical use while expanding its application range to a digital audiodisk, a video disk, a document file disk, and further a data file.Particularly, optical disks on which information can be recorded withhigh density, such as DVD-RAM, have been merchandised in recent years.Thus, easy recording of mass digital data on an optical disk has beenrealized gradually.

Digital data can be copied without any deterioration in its quality,which is an excellent feature. However, because of the excellent featurecopyright protection becomes an indispensable condition.

Some proposals for protecting copyright already have been made. Forexample, a conventional example is disclosed in Publication ofUnexamined Japanese Patent Application (Tokkai-Hei) No. 7-21987. It isthe object of the conventional example to prevent creative works frombeing changed and published without authorization. In a system disclosedin the Publication, when information has been recorded on an opticaldisk by copying or changing a part of original information, the opticaldisk cannot be ejected from a recording apparatus before the recordedinformation is erased.

In the aforementioned conventional example, it is possible to preventcreative works from being changed and then published withoutauthorization. However, the production of so-called pirated versions bycopying the entire creative work without any change cannot be prevented.In addition, it also is not possible to copy or change a part of anexisting creative works to make use of it for the purpose of personalhobby, which has been a problem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention seeks to solve the above-mentioned problems. It isan object of the present invention to provide an informationrecording/reproducing apparatus that provides copyright protection bypreventing the production of pirated versions or the like while enablinginformation to be recorded for the purpose of personal hobby.

In order to attain the aforementioned object, the present inventionemploys the following configurations.

An information recording/reproducing apparatus according to a firstconfiguration of the present invention records information on aninformation medium. The information recording/reproducing apparatusdetermines whether the information medium may be unloaded when receivinga command for unloading it to the outside. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus allows the information medium to beunloaded only when judging that the unloading is allowed and rejects theunloading of the information medium when judging that the unloading isnot allowed.

An information recording/reproducing apparatus according to a secondconfiguration of the present invention records information on aninformation medium. When information whose copyright must be protectedis recorded on the information medium, the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus also records apparatus information forspecifying the information recording/reproducing apparatus on theinformation medium.

An information recording/reproducing apparatus according to a thirdconfiguration of the present invention records information on aninformation medium. When information whose copyright must be protectedis recorded on the information medium, the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus also records regional information forspecifying the place (region) where the information is recorded on theinformation medium.

Thus, the above-mentioned respective configurations provide aninformation recording/reproducing apparatus with a simple configurationthat enables copyright protection and personal use of information whosecopyright must be protected to be compatible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a conceptual structural view of an example of an optical diskapparatus according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual structural view of an optical disk drive in theoptical disk apparatus in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of ejecting an opticaldisk in an optical disk apparatus in Embodiment I of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 shows criteria for the judgement in the flowchart in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of recordinginformation in an optical disk apparatus in Embodiment II of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing another example of the operation ofrecording information in the optical disk apparatus in Embodiment II ofthe present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of changinginformation quality in the optical disk apparatus in Embodiment II ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of reproducinginformation in the optical disk apparatus in Embodiment II of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference tothe drawings as follows.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual structural view of an example of an optical diskapparatus according to the present invention.

When an optical disk 4 is inserted into an opening 23 for inserting andejecting (unloading) an optical disk in an optical disk apparatus 20,the optical disk 4 is carried to an optical disk drive 21 andinformation is recorded on, reproduced from, or erased from the opticaldisk 4. Further, the optical disk 4 is carried to a changer 22 from theoptical disk drive 21 and is stored therein based on a command forexchanging or storing the optical disk 4 by the operation of a switchfor exchanging disks or a remote control, which is not shown in thefigure. The changer 22 stores a plurality of optical disks. The changer22 delivers the optical disk 4 to the optical disk drive 21 or storesthe optical disk 4 delivered from the optical disk drive 21. The opticaldisk apparatus may have a configuration in which the optical disk 4 istransported directly between the changer 22 and the opening 23. Byproviding an information signal input/output part 24 for exchanginginformation with an external unit, various information can be recordedon the optical disk 4 to be utilized.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual structural view of an example of the optical diskdrive 21 explained with reference to FIG. 1. The optical disk 4 isrotated by a driving mechanism 14. An optical head device 10 is moved tothe general area of a desired track on the optical disk 4 by a system 12for driving the optical head device 10. The optical head device 10 alsosends a focus error signal or a tracking error signal to an electriccircuit 11 corresponding to the relative position relationship with theoptical disk 4. Corresponding to this signal, the electric circuit 11sends a signal for slightly moving an objective to the optical headdevice 10. According to this signal, the optical head device 10 operatesa focus servo and a tracking servo for the optical disk 4, thus readingout information from, writing in information on, or erasing informationfrom the optical disk 4. In the figure, numeral 13 indicates a powersource inside the optical disk apparatus 20 or a connection with anexternal power source, and numeral 15 denotes a wire connecting theelectric circuit 11 and an electric circuit in the optical diskapparatus 20.

Embodiments of the information recording/reproducing apparatus accordingto the present invention will be explained concretely as follows usingthe optical disk apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as an example.

Embodiment I

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of ejecting an optical diskin an optical disk apparatus according to the present invention.

When a user requests ejection of an optical disk in the optical diskdrive 21 or in the changer 22 to the outside (step 30) by a method suchas pushing a switch or an operation of a remote control, which isomitted in FIG. 1, the optical disk apparatus 20 determines whether theoptical disk may be ejected (carried out) (step 31). In this case, theoptical disk apparatus 20 allows the optical disk to be ejected onlywhen judging that the ejection is allowed (YES), and then ejects theoptical disk so as to bring it in a condition in which a user can takeout the optical disk to the outside (step 32). When judging that theejection is not allowed (NO), the optical disk apparatus 20 rejects theejection of the optical disk (step 33), and it is preferable that by anerror message (in this case, the optical disk apparatus 20 also has adisplay unit, which is not shown in the figure) or an alarm (in thiscase, the optical disk apparatus 20 is provided with a speaker or thelike, which is not shown in the figure), and the optical disk apparatus20 notifies a user that the ejection is not allowed (step 34).

FIG. 4 shows some concrete criteria for the judgement in thedetermination of whether the ejection is allowed or not (step 31) basedon the condition of the optical disk in the flowchart shown in FIG. 3.The criteria will be explained as follows.

Embodiment I-1

In determining the condition of an optical disk (in determining whetherejection of the optical disk is allowed or not) in Embodiment I-1, whenthe optical disk requested to be ejected is a recordable optical disk,the optical disk apparatus judges that the ejection is not allowed (NO).On the other hand, when the optical disk requested to be ejected is adisk used exclusively for reproduction, the optical disk apparatusjudges that the ejection is allowed (YES).

In this case, whether the optical disk to be an object is the recordableoptical disk or the disk used exclusively for reproduction may bedetermined, for example, by evaluating an optical disk contained in acartridge as a recordable optical disk or by evaluating the optical diskbased on a signal obtained from the optical head device 10.

In the case of evaluating the optical disk by the signal from theoptical head device 10, for example, a disk having a lower signalstrength than a certain value or a disk having a low amplitude ratio(modulation factor) of a high-frequency signal for the time-averagedsignal strength may be evaluated as a recordable optical disk, or thekind of the disk may be determined from the characteristics of a focuscontrol signal when an objective lens provided in the optical head unit10 is moved without focus control or from the combination of thesemethods.

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information on arecordable optical disk and can enjoy the information personally. At thesame time, since ejection of a recordable optical disk is not allowed inany case, the copyright holder can protect the copyright without takingany countermeasures.

Embodiment I-2

In determining the condition of an optical disk (in determining whetherejection of an optical disk is allowed or not) in Embodiment I-2, wheninformation has been recorded on an optical disk, for example, byintroducing the information from the outside through the informationsignal input/output part 24, a recording history indicating that theinformation has been recorded on the optical disk is recorded in anonvolatile memory (not shown in FIG. 1) inside the optical diskapparatus 20.

On the other hand, when receiving a command for ejecting an opticaldisk, the optical disk apparatus 20 checks the recording historyrelating to the optical disk in the memory. Then, the optical diskapparatus 20 judges that the ejection is not allowed (NO) when therecording history indicating that information has been recorded on theoptical disk is found and judges that the ejection is allowed (YES) whensuch recording history is not found.

In this case, the recording history can be stored separately for eachoptical disk, for example, by providing a memory/memories for recordingrespective recording history corresponding to each number of places inthe changer 22 where optical disks are stored.

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information on arecordable optical disk and can enjoy the information personally. At thesame time, an optical disk on which nothing has been recorded can beejected, and therefore, for example, the optical disk can be replacedwith an optical disk with a different capacity. However, onceinformation has been recorded on the optical disk, the ejection of theoptical disk is not allowed. Thus, the copyright holder can protect thecopyright without taking any countermeasures.

Embodiment I-3

The determination of the condition of an optical disk (the determinationwhether ejection of an optical disk is allowed or not) in Embodiment I-3is explained as follows.

When information is recorded on an optical disk, for example, byintroducing the information from the outside through the informationsignal input/output part 24, the optical disk apparatus 20 judgeswhether a signal indicating that copyright protection of the informationis required (hereafter also referred to as “a copyright protectionsignal”) has been added to the information to be recorded (for example,music information, picture (video) information, database information, orthe like; hereafter also referred to as “contents information”). Whenthe signal has not been added, the contents information is recorded onthe optical disk without extra operation. On the other hand, when thesignal has been added, the contents information is recorded on theoptical disk, and the recording history indicating that the informationwhose copyright must be protected (hereafter also referred to simply as“information subject to copyright protection”) has been recorded on theoptical disk also is recorded in a nonvolatile memory (not shown inFIG. 1) inside the optical disk apparatus 20.

When receiving a command for ejecting an optical disk, the optical diskapparatus 20 checks the recording history relating to the optical diskin the memory. Then, the optical disk apparatus 20 judges that theejection is not allowed (NO) when the recording history indicating thatinformation subject to copyright protection has been recorded on theoptical disk is found and judges that the ejection is allowed (YES) whensuch recording history is not found.

In this case, the recording history can be stored separately for eachoptical disk, for example, by providing a memory/memories for recordingrespective recording history corresponding to each number of places inthe changer 22 where optical disks are stored.

In addition, a sender of the information can judge individually whetherthe copyright of the information must be protected. When the senderjudges that the copyright of the information must be protected, thesender may add a copyright protection signal to the informationaccording to a predetermined rule. For instance, when informationsubject to copyright protection is recorded on an optical disk to besent, a copyright protection signal may be added by providing physicalcharacteristics such that, for example, reflectance of an informationrecording surface of the optical disk is decreased extremely only at aspecific part. Alternatively, when information subject to copyrightprotection is transmitted through a radio link such as in satellitebroadcasting, by using a specific frequency or channel number thetransmitted contents information can be identified as the informationsubject to copyright protection (in this case, the use of the specificfrequency or channel number corresponds to the addition of a copyrightprotection signal).

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information(information subject to copyright protection) on a recordable opticaldisk and can enjoy the information personally. In addition, informationwhose copyright need not be protected, for example, private video imagestaped by a user himself/herself can be freely copied and/or edited on anoptical disk to be given to other people. On the other hand, when asender of information wishes to protect the copyright of theinformation, the sender is required only to add a copyright protectionsignal to the information and send it, thereby inhibiting the ejectionof the optical disk on which the information has been recorded.Therefore, the copyright holder can-protect the copyright without takingany countermeasures after sending the information.

Embodiment I-4

In the present embodiment, in the above-mentioned Embodiment I-3, evenin the case where a copyright protection signal relating to contentsinformation to be recorded on an optical disk had been added to thecontents information, when the information has not been recorded on anoptical disk without any change but has been recorded with its qualitybeing deteriorated below a predetermined level, the optical diskapparatus 20 judges that ejection of the optical disk is allowed (YES)when receiving a command for ejecting it.

For instance, when information has been recorded with its quality beingdeteriorated, a recording history indicating that information subject tocopyright protection has been recorded on an optical disk is notrecorded in the memory. Alternatively, a recording history indicatingthat information has been recorded with its quality being deterioratedis recorded in the memory. When receiving a command for ejecting anoptical disk, the optical disk apparatus 20 checks the recording historyrelating to the optical disk in the memory. Then, the apparatus 20judges that the ejection of the optical disk is allowed (YES) when norecording history indicating that information subject to copyrightprotection has been recorded on the optical disk is found or when therecording history indicating that information has been recorded with itsquality being deteriorated is found. When the condition of the opticaldisk does not fall under either of the above-mentioned cases theapparatus 20 judges that the ejection is not allowed (NO).

In the above, deteriorating the quality of information means that in thecase of music information or picture information, sound quality orpicture quality is deteriorated, for example, by decreasing a samplingrate (a sampling frequency) to limit the frequency band in which theinformation is recorded to a low range or to eliminate the frequencyband that is not important, or by decreasing the number of channel bitsof a signal size at a certain time (for example, by converting a 16-bitbinary coded signal to a 8-bit signal) to decrease resolution (to narrowthe dynamic range). In the case of information such as a database,deteriorating the quality of the information means that, for example, animportant part of the information is destroyed.

The difference in level to which the quality of information isdeteriorated depends on the method of deteriorating the quality of theinformation. The level of the deterioration in quality of information atwhich the apparatus 20 judges that ejection of an optical disk isallowed can be freely set. Thus, when the quality has been deterioratedonly a little, the optical disk apparatus 20 judges that the qualitysubstantially has not been deteriorated. Then, the information can beconsidered still as an object for copyright protection. For example, asender of information subject to copyright protection can record dataindicating the extent to which the quality of the information must bedeteriorated in order that the information is considered as a non-objectfor copyright protection, with a copyright protection signal on anoptical disk. In such a case, only when the quality of the informationhas been deteriorated at least to the extent specified in the recordeddata, the optical disk apparatus 20 judges that ejection of the opticaldisk is allowed. Thus, copyright management as the copyright holderwishes can be realized.

According to the present embodiment, the restriction for transferringinformation subject to copyright protection copied can be alleviated oncondition that the quality of the information is deteriorated suitably,thus allowing copyright protection and convenience in using informationto be compatible.

Embodiment I-5

In the present embodiment, even when information to which a copyrightprotection signal had been added was recorded on an optical disk and therecording history indicating that information subject to copyrightprotection had been recorded was recorded in the memory according toEmbodiment I-3, the apparatus 20 judges that ejection of the opticaldisk is allowed (YES) when receiving a command for ejecting the opticaldisk in the case where the quality of the information subject tocopyright protection recorded on the optical disk has been deterioratedbelow a predetermined level after the recording of the information.

For instance, when an operation for deteriorating the quality ofinformation is carried out for an optical disk having a recordinghistory indicating that information subject to copyright protection hasbeen recorded, the recording history is deleted. Alternatively, arecording history indicating that the deterioration of the quality ofinformation has been carried out is recorded in the memory. Whenreceiving a command for ejecting an optical disk, the apparatus 20checks the recording history relating to the optical disk in the memory.Then, the apparatus 20 judges that the ejection of the optical disk isallowed (YES) when no recording history indicating that informationsubject to copyright protection has been recorded on the optical disk isfound or when the recording history indicating that the deterioration ofthe quality of information has been carried out is found. When thecondition of the optical disk does not fall under either of theabove-mentioned cases the apparatus 20 judges that the ejection is notallowed (NO).

In the above, the operation for deteriorating the quality of informationmeans to deteriorate the quality of information by carrying out theoperation explained in Embodiment I-4 for contents information recordedon an optical disk. After carrying out such operation, the originalinformation (information before the deterioration of the quality ofinformation) is not found on the optical disk.

Similarly in the present embodiment, the difference in level to whichthe quality of information is deteriorated depends on the method ofdeteriorating the quality of the information. The level of thedeterioration in quality of information at which the apparatus 20 judgesthat ejection of an optical disk is allowed can be freely set. Thus,when the quality has been deteriorated only a little, the optical diskapparatus 20 judges that the quality substantially has not beendeteriorated. Then, the information can be considered still as an objectfor copyright protection. As in Embodiment I-4, for example, a sender ofinformation subject to copyright protection can record data indicatingthe extent to which the quality of the information must be deterioratedin order that the information is considered as a non-object forcopyright protection, with a copyright protection signal on an opticaldisk. In such a case, only when the quality of the information has beendeteriorated at least to the extent specified in the recorded data, theoptical disk apparatus 20 judges that ejection of the optical disk isallowed. Thus, copyright management as the copyright holder wishes canbe realized.

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information(information subject to copyright protection) on a recordable opticaldisk and can enjoy the information personally. Furthermore, informationwhose copyright need not be protected, for example, private video imagestaped by a user himself/herself can be freely copied and/or edited on anoptical disk to be given to other people. On the other hand, withrespect to the information subject to copyright protection, therestriction for transferring information copied can be alleviated oncondition that the quality of the information is deteriorated suitably,thus allowing copyright protection and convenience in using informationto be compatible.

Embodiment I-6

In the present embodiment, even when information to which a copyrightprotection signal had been added has been recorded on an optical diskand history indicating that information subject to copyright protectionhad been recorded has been recorded in the memory according toEmbodiment I-3, the apparatus 20 judges that ejection of the opticaldisk is allowed (YES) when receiving a command for ejecting the opticaldisk in the case where reproduction of the information subject tocopyright protection is completely inhibited by erasure of theinformation required for reproducing the information subject tocopyright protection recorded on the optical disk (for example,management information or the like recorded on an optical disk,hereafter referred to as “reproduction information”).

For instance, when erasure of the reproduction information is carriedout for an optical disk having a recording history indicating thatinformation subject to copyright protection has been recorded, therecording history is deleted. Alternatively, a recording historyindicating that the erasure of the reproduction information has beencarried out is recorded in the memory. When receiving a command forejecting an optical disk, the apparatus 20 checks the recording historyrelating to the optical disk in the memory. Then, the apparatus 20judges that the ejection of the optical disk is allowed (YES) when norecording history indicating that information subject to copyrightprotection has been recorded on the optical disk is found or when therecording history indicating that the erasure of the reproductioninformation has been carried out is found. When the condition of theoptical disk does not fall under either of the above-mentioned cases theapparatus 20 judges that the ejection is not allowed (NO).

The reproduction information is not always required to be erasedcompletely. Only a part of the reproduction information may be erased aslong as the information subject to copyright protection cannot bereproduced.

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information(information subject to copyright protection) on a recordable opticaldisk and can enjoy the information personally. When information subjectto copyright protection and other information (for example, privatevideo images taped by a user himself/herself) have been recordedtogether on one optical disk, the optical disk can be ejected quicklyonly by carrying out simple erasure of only the reproduction informationof the information subject to copyright protection (not the informationsubject to copyright protection). For example, when the changer 22 isfull, by erasure of only reproduction information of unnecessaryinformation subject to copyright protection, the optical disk in thechanger 22 can be replaced with a new optical disk, thus improvingoperability.

Embodiment I-7

In the present embodiment, even when information to which a copyrightprotection signal had been added was recorded on an optical disk and arecording history indicating that information subject to copyrightprotection had been recorded was recorded in the memory according toEmbodiment I-3, the apparatus 20 judges that ejection of the opticaldisk is allowed (YES) when receiving a command for ejecting the opticaldisk in the case where the entire information subject to copyrightprotection recorded on the optical disk has been erased.

For instance, when erasure of the entire information subject tocopyright protection is carried out for an optical disk having arecording history indicating that information subject to copyrightprotection has been recorded, the recording history is deleted. Whenreceiving a command for ejecting an optical disk, the apparatus 20checks the recording history relating to the optical disk in the memory.Then, the apparatus 20 judges that the ejection of the optical disk isallowed (YES) when no recording history indicating that informationsubject to copyright protection has been recorded on the optical disk isfound. When the condition of the optical disk does not fall under theabove-mentioned case, the apparatus 20 judges that the ejection is notallowed (NO).

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information(information subject to copyright protection) on a recordable opticaldisk and can enjoy the information personally. When the informationsubject to copyright protection and other information (for example,private video images taped by a user himself/herself) have been recordedtogether on one optical disk, the optical disk can be ejected by erasureof the information subject to copyright protection. For example, whenthe changer 22 is full, by erasure of unnecessary information subject tocopyright protection, the optical disk in the changer 22 can be replacedwith a new optical disk.

The aforementioned Embodiments I-2 to I-7, which are different fromEmbodiment I-I, also have an effect in which even when an optical diskis a recordable disk, the optical disk can be replaced with one having adifferent capacity on condition that nothing has been recorded on theoptical disk.

It is preferable that the information recording/reproducing apparatus ofthe present invention is provided with a changer as in the optical diskapparatus 20 shown in FIG. 1. When the changer is provided, massinformation can be used and applied for personal hobby by exchange ofinformation media inside an apparatus even in the case where theinformation media are not allowed to be ejected to the outside of theapparatus due to the handling of information subject to copyrightprotection.

The aforementioned Embodiments I-1 to I-7 were explained using anoptical disk as an example. However, the present invention also can beapplied to other recording media such as a removable hard disk, a floppydisk, or a magnetic tape. For example, when using a hard disk, theabove-mentioned changer may be replaced with a plurality of hard diskconnections. When unloading is not allowed, the hard disk may be lockedso as not to be released from the connections instead of rejectingejection in the case of an optical disk. When the unloading is allowed,the lock can be unlocked.

Embodiment II

In the present embodiment, when information subject to copyrightprotection is recorded on an optical disk, information (apparatusinformation) functioning as a key also is recorded on the optical disk.The information (apparatus information) functioning as a key enables aninformation recording/reproducing apparatus used for recording to bespecified or recognized. On the other hand, to an informationreproducing apparatus (including an apparatus used exclusively forreproduction and not for recording) in which contents informationrecorded on an optical disk is reproduced, information (apparatusinformation) functioning as a key that enables the apparatus to bespecified or recognized is provided. In reproducing contents informationrecorded on an optical disk in the information reproducing apparatus,when apparatus information has been added to the contents informationand the apparatus information is different from that of the informationreproducing apparatus, reproduction of the contents information is notallowed.

Thus, when information subject to copyright protection and otherinformation (for example, private video images taped by a userhimself/herself) have been recorded together on one optical disk, theoptical disk can be ejected from the information recording/reproducingapparatus, and then the contents information other than the informationsubject to copyright protection can be reproduced in other informationreproducing apparatus.

The apparatus information is an identification number, an identificationmark, or a cipher that is unique to the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus or the information reproducingapparatus. Such apparatus information can be recorded in a ROM (ReadOnly Memory, which is formed of IC in the most cases), in a hologrammemory, or in a bar code within the apparatus or can be indicated by thedifference in circuit wiring.

Different apparatus information may be provided to each apparatus, orthe same apparatus information may be added to a plurality ofapparatuses within a certain group. In the former, since informationsubject to copyright protection can be reproduced only in the apparatusin which the information has been recorded, the copyright can beprotected further effectively. In the latter, the information subject tocopyright protection can be reproduced only by a plurality of specifiedusers having the apparatuses to which the same apparatus information hasbeen provided.

When an information reproducing apparatus is used exclusively forreproduction, apparatus information may indicate only that the apparatusis used exclusively for reproduction. In other words, not individuallydifferent apparatus information but common apparatus information may beprovided to apparatuses used exclusively for reproduction. Since only aninformation recording/reproducing apparatus capable of recordinginformation can record information subject to copyright protection on anoptical disk, an apparatus used exclusively for reproduction isinevitably different from the information recording/reproducingapparatus in which the information has been recorded. Therefore, thereproduction of contents information to which apparatus information hasbeen added is always inhibited in an apparatus used exclusively forreproduction. Thus, even if not individual apparatus information butcommon apparatus information has been provided to apparatuses usedexclusively for reproduction, the reproduction of contents informationto which apparatus information has been added is inhibited in theapparatuses used exclusively for reproduction in the same way. Inaddition, the apparatus information can be provided by a simple method(for instance, a method of incorporating IC in which common apparatusinformation has been recorded into apparatuses used exclusively forreproduction) through providing common apparatus information toapparatuses used exclusively for reproduction. Consequently, apparatusesused exclusively for reproduction to which apparatus information hasbeen provided can be manufactured at low cost.

The apparatus information will be explained more concretely withreference to FIGS. 5-9 as follows.

Embodiment II-1

An operation of recording contents information in the present embodimentwill be explained with reference to FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 5, when contents information is recorded on an opticaldisk, whether the contents information is information whose copyrightmust be protected (information subject to copyright protection) isjudged (step 41). Whether the contents information is informationsubject to copyright protection can be judged, for example, by judgingwhether the copyright protection signal explained in Embodiment I-3 hasbeen added to the contents information. In the case of recording theinformation subject to copyright protection, apparatus informationpeculiar to an information recording apparatus also is recorded as “key”information in addition to contents information (step 42). On the otherhand, in the case of recording information other than the informationsubject to copyright protection, the apparatus information is notrecorded (step 43).

The apparatus information can be recorded in an area (for example, amanagement area) where information (for example, management information)required for reproduction of contents information recorded on an opticaldisk is recorded so as to relate to the contents information.

According to the present embodiment, a user can record information(information subject to copyright protection) on a recordable opticaldisk and can enjoy the information personally using the same apparatus.When information subject to copyright protection is recorded, apparatusinformation also is recorded and reproduction of the information subjectto copyright protection is not allowed in an apparatus having adifferent apparatus information from the recorded apparatus information.Therefore, when sending information subject to copyright protection, thecopyright holder is required only to add a signal indicating thatcopyright protection is required and can protect the copyright withouttaking any countermeasures after sending the information.

Embodiment II-2

An operation of recording contents information in the present embodimentwill be explained with reference to FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, when contents information is recorded on an opticaldisk, whether the contents information is information subject tocopyright protection is judged (step 51). In the case of informationother than information subject to copyright protection, apparatusinformation is not recorded and only the contents information isrecorded (step 52). The above is the same in Embodiment II-1.

On the other hand, in the case of information subject to copyrightprotection, whether the contents information should be recorded with itsquality being deteriorated below a predetermined level is considered(step 53). When the contents information is recorded with its qualitybeing deteriorated, apparatus information is not recorded and only thecontents information is recorded (step 52). When the information isrecorded with its quality not being deteriorated, apparatus informationpeculiar to an information recording apparatus also is recorded as a“key” information in addition to the contents information (step 54).

In the above, deteriorating the quality of information means to carryout an operation such as explained in the aforementioned Embodiment I-4.The difference in level to which the quality of information isdeteriorated depends on the method of deteriorating the quality of theinformation. In the judgement at step 53, when the quality has not beendeteriorated to a sufficient level, the information recording apparatusjudges that the quality substantially has not been deteriorated, andthen records apparatus information.

As in Embodiment I-4, for example, a sender of information subject tocopyright protection can record data indicating the extent to which thequality of the information must be deteriorated in order that theinformation is considered as a non-object for copyright protection, witha copyright protection signal. In such a case, only when the quality ofthe information has been deteriorated at least to the extent specifiedin the recorded data, apparatus information is not recorded. Thus,copyright management as the copyright holder wishes can be realized.

According to the present embodiment, with respect to information subjectto copyright protection, information recorded is allowed to bereproduced or copied freely on condition that the quality of theinformation is deteriorated suitably. Thus, copyright protection andconvenience in using information are allowed to be compatible.

In the present embodiment, even if the information recording apparatusjudges at step 53 that the quality of information has been deteriorated,apparatus information also may be recorded (step 54) when the regulationfor protecting the copyright of the contents information prohibitscopying the information even in the case where the quality of theinformation is deteriorated.

Embodiment II-3

The present embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG. 7.

In the present embodiment, even in the case where apparatus informationhad been recorded in addition to information subject to copyrightprotection according to the aforementioned Embodiments II-1 and II-2,the apparatus information is erased when an operation for deterioratingthe quality of the information subject to copyright protection recordedon an optical disk below a predetermined level has been carried outafter the recording of the information.

In other words, when an operation for deteriorating the quality ofcontents information recorded on a rewritable-type optical disk iscarried out (step 61), whether apparatus information has been added tothe contents information subject to the deterioration is judged (step62). Then, when the apparatus information has been added to the contentsinformation, the apparatus information is deleted (step 63). When theapparatus information has not been added to the contents information,the operation relating to the apparatus information is not carried out(step 64). When the operation for deteriorating the quality ofinformation is not carried out at step 61, of course the operationrelating to the apparatus information is not carried out (step 64).

In the above, the operation for deteriorating the quality of informationmeans to carry out an operation such as explained in Embodiment I-4 forcontents information recorded on an optical disk to deteriorate thequality of the information. After such an operation has been carriedout, the original information (information before the operation fordeteriorating the quality of information) is not found on the opticaldisk.

Similarly in the present embodiment, the difference in level to whichthe quality of information is deteriorated depends on the method ofdeteriorating the quality of the information. The level to which thequality of information should be deteriorated to delete apparatusinformation can be freely set. When quality of information has not beendeteriorated to a sufficient level, an apparatus judges that the qualitysubstantially has not been deteriorated. Then, the information can beconsidered still as an object for copyright protection. As in EmbodimentI-4, for example, a sender of information subject to copyrightprotection can record data indicating the extent to which the quality ofthe information must be deteriorated in order that the information isconsidered as a non-object for copyright protection, with a copyrightprotection signal. In such a case, only when the quality of theinformation has been deteriorated at least to the extent specified inthe recorded data, apparatus information is deleted. Thus, copyrightmanagement as the copyright holder wishes can be realized.

According to the present embodiment, even in an information reproducingapparatus having different apparatus information from that recorded onan optical disk, contents information is allowed to be freely reproducedor copied on condition that the quality of the information isdeteriorated suitably, thus enabling copyright protection andconvenience in using information to be compatible.

Similarly in the present embodiment, even if an apparatus judges thatthe operation for deteriorating the quality of the information has beencarried out at step 61, the operation relating to apparatus informationmay not be carried out (step 64) when the regulation for protecting thecopyright of the contents information prohibits reproducing theinformation even in the case where the quality of the information is,deteriorated.

Embodiment II-4

A procedure in reproducing contents information recorded on an opticaldisk will be explained with reference to FIG. 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, in reproducing contents information, first is judgedwhether apparatus information has been added to the contents informationto be reproduced (step 71). When no apparatus information has beenadded, reproduction of the contents information is allowed (step 72).When apparatus information has been added, whether the apparatusinformation coincides with that of an information recording/reproducingapparatus or an information reproducing apparatus in which the contentsinformation is reproduced is judged (step 73). When they coincide witheach other, the reproduction of the contents information is allowed(step 72). If not, the reproduction is rejected (step 74). In this case,it is preferable that the information recording/reproducing apparatus orthe information reproducing apparatus displays that the contentsinformation cannot be reproduced due to copyright protection when thereproduction is rejected.

According to the present embodiment, only by allowing apparatusinformation to be added to information subject to copyright protectionin recording the information, a certain restriction for reproducing andcopying information subject to copyright protection can be set.Therefore, the copyright holder can protect the copyright without takingany countermeasures after sending information subject to copyrightprotection.

Embodiment III

In another method of protecting copyright, when information subject tocopyright protection is recorded on an optical disk, information(regional information) functioning as a key also is recorded on theoptical disk. The information (regional information) functioning as akey enables the installation region or the installation place of aninformation recording/reproducing apparatus used for the recording to bespecified or recognized. On the other hand, to an informationreproducing apparatus (including an apparatus that is used exclusivelyfor reproducing information and not for recording information) in whichcontents information recorded on an optical disk is reproduced,information (regional information) functioning as a key that enables theregion or the place where the information is reproduced to be specifiedor recognized is provided. When the information reproducing apparatusreproduces contents information recorded on an optical disk, thereproduction of the contents information is not allowed in the casewhere regional information has been added to the contents informationand the regional information is different from that of the informationreproducing apparatus.

Thus, when information subject to copyright protection and otherinformation (for example, private video images taped by a userhimself/herself) have been recorded together on one optical disk, theoptical disk can be ejected from an information recording/reproducingapparatus, and then the contents information other than the informationsubject to copyright protection can be reproduced in an informationreproducing apparatus installed at other place.

The regional information of a recording apparatus and that of areproducing apparatus can be provided to the apparatuses beforehand bythe following methods as examples. For example, by installing anapparatus (equipped with at least an antenna for receiving GPS signalsand a GPS signal detector) for receiving GPS information sent from anartificial satellite, which has been widely used for a car navigationsystem or the like, in an information recording/reproducing apparatus(including an information reproducing apparatus used exclusively forreproduction), the information relating to the current installationplace (region) of the information recording/reproducing apparatusobtained from the GPS information is provided to the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus. This enables easy design of a systemallowing reproduction of contents information only when the place wherethe information is reproduced is the same as the place where theinformation was recorded (for example, within the same country, withinthe same region, within the same location, within the same house).Further, instead of the GPS information from an artificial satellite,installation place information of an information recording/reproducingapparatus can be provided to the apparatus using telephone lines or thelike. In addition, it may be possible to force a user of an informationrecording/reproducing apparatus to input the installation placeinformation to the apparatus. Alternatively, a manufacturer or a sellerof an information recording/reproducing apparatus also can input theinformation of the place where the apparatus will be used beforehand.

The procedures in recording regional information on an optical disk, indeleting recorded regional information, and in reproducing contentsinformation recorded on an optical disk can be carried out as in thecase of the apparatus information explained in Embodiments II-1 to II-4.

In other words, when information subject to copyright protection isrecorded on an optical disk, regional information specifying a recordingplace also is recorded. This enables a user to record information(information subject to copyright protection) on a recordable opticaldisk and to enjoy the information personally within the same region.With respect to information subject to copyright protection, regionalinformation is recorded when the information subject to copyrightprotection is recorded, and the information subject to copyrightprotection is not allowed to be reproduced in an apparatus havingdifferent regional information from that recorded (that is to say,reproduction in the different region from the region where theinformation was recorded is not allowed). Therefore, the copyrightholder can protect the copyright without taking any countermeasuresafter sending information subject to copyright protection.

Even in the case where information subject to copyright protection isrecorded on an optical disk, when the information is recorded with itsquality being deteriorated, it is possible to allow regional informationnot to be recorded. Thus, information subject to copyright protectionthat has been recorded is allowed to be freely reproduced or copied oncondition that the quality of the information is deteriorated suitably,thus enabling copyright protection and convenience in using informationto be compatible.

When an operation for deteriorating the quality of information subjectto copyright protection has been carried out for an optical disk onwhich regional information had been recorded in addition to informationsubject to copyright protection, the regional information may be erased.Consequently, even in a different region from the region where theinformation subject to copyright protection was recorded, contentsinformation is allowed to be freely reproduced or copied on conditionthat the quality of the information is deteriorated suitably, thusenabling copyright protection and convenience in using information to becompatible.

Furthermore, the reproduction of contents information, to which regionalinformation has been added, on an optical disk is allowed only when theregional information of the contents information coincides with that ofthe place where the contents information is reproduced. When they do notcoincide with each other, the reproduction is rejected. Therefore,certain restriction for reproduction and copying of information subjectto copyright protection can be set only by allowing regional informationto be added when information subject to copyright protection isrecorded. Thus, the copyright holder can protect the copyright withouttaking any countermeasures after sending information subject tocopyright protection.

The aforementioned Embodiments II and III are explained using an opticaldisk as an example. However, the present invention can be applied toother recording media such as a removable hard disk, a floppy disk, anda magnetic tape.

The invention may be embodied in other forms without departing from thespirit or essential characteristics thereof. The embodiments disclosedin this application are to be considered in all respects as illustrativeand not limiting. The scope of the invention is indicated by theappended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and allchanges which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of theclaims are intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information recording/reproducing apparatusfor recording information on an information medium, the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus comprising, receiver for receiving acommand for unloading the information medium to the outside, wherein theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus determines whether theinformation medium is to be unloaded, and evaluator for judging whetherunloading of the information medium is allowed, wherein only whenjudging that unloading of the information medium is allowed, theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus allows the informationmedium to be unloaded, and when judging that the unloading of theinformation medium is not allowed, the information recording/reproducingapparatus rejects the unloading of the information medium, wherein whenthe information medium requested to be unloaded is a recordable medium,the evaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium is notallowed, and when the information medium requested to be unloaded is amedium used exclusively for reproduction, the evaluator judges that theunloading of the information medium is allowed.
 2. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when theevaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium is notallowed, the information recording/reproducing apparatus rejects theunloading and also informs a user that the unloading is not allowed byan error message or an alarm.
 3. The information recording/reproducingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information medium is anoptical disk and the information recording/reproducing apparatuscomprises an optical disk drive.
 4. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus comprises a changer for theinformation medium.
 5. The information recording/reproducing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the information medium is a removable harddisk.
 6. An information recording/reproducing apparatus for recordinginformation on an information medium, receiver for receiving a commandfor unloading the information medium to the outside, wherein theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus determines whether theinformation medium is to be unloaded, evaluator for judging whetherunloading of the information medium is allowed, wherein only whenjudging that unloading of the information medium is allowed, theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus allows the informationmedium to be unloaded, and when judging that the unloading of theinformation medium is not allowed, the information recording/reproducingapparatus rejects the unloading of the information medium, and a memoryfor storing history relating to recording of information on theinformation medium, wherein when recording information on theinformation medium, the information recording/reproducing apparatusrecords in the memory the fact that the information has been recorded onthe information medium, and when receiving a command for unloading theinformation medium to the outside, in the case where a historyindicating that information has been recorded on the information mediumrequested to be unloaded is found in the memory, the evaluator judgesthat the unloading of the information medium is not allowed, and in thecase where the history is not found, the evaluator judges that theunloading of the information medium is allowed.
 7. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when theevaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium is notallowed, the information recording/reproducing apparatus rejects theunloading and also informs a user that the unloading is not allowed byan error message or an alarm.
 8. The information recording/reproducingapparatus according to claim 6, wherein the information medium is anoptical disk and the information recording/reproducing apparatuscomprises an optical disk drive.
 9. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus comprises a changer for theinformation medium.
 10. The information recording/reproducing apparatusaccording to claim 6, wherein the information medium is a removable harddisk.
 11. An information recording/reproducing apparatus for recordinginformation on an information medium, receiver for receiving a commandfor unloading the information medium to the outside, wherein theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus determines whether theinformation medium is to be unloaded, evaluator for judging whetherunloading of the information medium is allowed, wherein only whenjudging that unloading of the information medium is allowed, theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus allows the informationmedium to be unloaded, and when judging that the unloading of theinformation medium is not allowed, the information recording/reproducingapparatus rejects the unloading of the information medium, and a memoryfor storing history relating to recording of information on theinformation medium, wherein when information to which a signalindicating that copyright protection is required had been added has beenrecorded on the information medium, the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus records in the memory the fact thatinformation whose copyright is to be protected has been recorded on theinformation medium, and when receiving a command for unloading theinformation medium to the outside, in the case where history indicatingthat information whose copyright is to be protected has been recorded onthe information medium requested to be unloaded is found in the memory,the evaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium is notallowed, and in the case where the history is not found, the evaluatorjudges that the unloading of the information medium is allowed.
 12. Theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11,wherein even when information to which a signal indicating thatcopyright protection is required had been added has been recorded on theinformation medium, in the case where the information has been recordedon the information medium with its quality being deteriorated, theevaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium is allowedwhen receiving a command for unloading the information medium to theoutside.
 13. The information recording/reproducing apparatus accordingto claim 11, wherein even when information to which a signal indicatingthat copyright protection is required had been added was recorded on theinformation medium and the fact that information whose copyright is tobe protected had been recorded on the information medium was recorded inthe memory, in the case where an operation for deteriorating quality ofthe information recorded on the information medium has been carried out,the evaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium isallowed when receiving a command for unloading the information medium tothe outside.
 14. The information recording/reproducing apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein even when information to which a signalindicating that copyright protection is required had been added wasrecorded on the information medium and the fact that information whosecopyright is to be protected had been recorded on the information mediumwas recorded in the memory, in the case where information required forreproducing the information has been erased from the information medium,the evaluator judges that the unloading of the information medium isallowed when receiving a command for unloading the information medium tothe outside.
 15. The information recording/reproducing apparatusaccording to claim 11, wherein even when information to which a signalindicating that copyright protection is required had been added wasrecorded on the information medium and the fact that information whosecopyright is to be protected had been recorded on the information mediumwas recorded in the memory, in the case where all the informationrecorded on the information medium has been erased, the evaluator judgesthat the unloading of the information medium is allowed when receiving acommand for unloading the information medium to the outside.
 16. Theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11,wherein when the evaluator judges that the unloading of the informationmedium is not allowed, the information recording/reproducing apparatusrejects the unloading and also informs a user that the unloading is notallowed by an error message or an alarm.
 17. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein theinformation medium is an optical disk and the informationrecording/reproducing apparatus comprises an optical disk drive.
 18. Theinformation recording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11,wherein the information recording/reproducing apparatus comprises achanger for the information medium.
 19. The informationrecording/reproducing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein theinformation medium is a removable hard disk.